Updated Research and PGR FAQs: Ethical reviews and data collection

02 Apr 2020

Frequently asked questions are updated regularly

This advice is correct at the time of publication of this news article.

If you have health concerns then you should refer to the NHS website as recommended by Public Health England, however to make other queries regarding the current situation you can email coronavirus-info@manchester.ac.uk.

The research and PGR FAQs have been updated with the following question:

Do I have to seek an amendment to my ethical review if I need to extend the end date of my data collection due to the Coronavirus situation?

For details about studies that have NHS Research Ethics Committee (NHS REC) approval please refer to the Health Research Authority.

University-approved studies that have been approved via the University Research Ethics Committee or through a Department/Division/School process via the Ethical Review Manager (ERM) and have an ‘End Date of Data Collection’ listed as anytime between the 15 March 2020 to 15 September 2020 will automatically have their end date extended to the 15 March 2021.

The ERM system will still generate Progress/End of Study Report notices according to the original date of ethical approval. If you are still collecting data when completing your Progress/End of Study Report, please indicate when data collection will end and that your study has been granted an automatic extension as outlined above.

Important note for students:

This extension ONLY affects the ethical approval for data collection in your study. Submission deadlines for theses and dissertations etc are set and managed by your study programme and are handled separately by the programme. You should seek additional clarification and advice from your Programme Director, Tutor or School Administrator if you are uncertain about your submission deadline.